United States benchmark averages finished modestly higher on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) as easing Treasury yields supported risk appetite, while a surge in Moderna shares lifted the healthcare sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 119.7 points, or 0.2%, to 53,463.1, while the S&P 500 gained 16.2 points, or 0.2%, to 7,708.0. The Nasdaq Composite added 41.4 points, or 0.2%, to 26,331.1.
Investors largely shrugged off minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's July meeting, which showed growing concerns over inflation, with several policymakers open to raising interest rates.
Many officials said a rate hike could be warranted if inflation fails to return to the Fed's 2% target.
Treasury yields eased a day after the 30-year yield climbed to its highest level since 2007. The 10-year yield also declined after the U.S. Treasury said it would double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations for longer-dated bonds.
Moderna shares surged nearly 177%, leading gains on the S&P 500 in the company's biggest-ever rally, after it said a personalised mRNA cancer treatment developed with Merck significantly reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence and spread in a late-stage trial.
Merck shares also jumped 12.6%.
Marvell Technology climbed 9.9% after announcing it would help develop Google's custom chips and had offered the search giant the option to acquire a potential $12.2 billion stake.
Among other stocks, Target rose 4.3% after raising its annual sales forecast, while Lowe's gained 2% despite trimming its full-year sales growth outlook.
Estée Lauder surged 16.3% after forecasting annual profit above Wall Street expectations.
On the bond markets, the 10-year and two-year Treasury yields fell 1.4 basis points and 0.4 basis points to 4.641% and 4.162%, respectively.
